West and Winehouse dominate Grammys

Music’s biggest stars were in attendance Sunday at
the 50th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

The awards show, which aired on CBS, was full
of genre-crossing performances, as the Best Female
R&B Vocal Performance winner, Alicia Keys, opened
the show with “Learnin’ The Blues,” a duet with the
late Frank Sinatra, whose virtual image was projected
above the stage.

Introduced by 25-time Grammy-winner Stevie
Wonder, Keys hit the stage later to perform her awardwinning
song, “No One,” with John Mayer on guitar.
Key’s powerful delivery made the spirited performance
one of the best of the night.

James “Jimmy Jam” Harris gave a funky performance
of “Umbrella” and “Please Don’t Stop the Music” with
Rihanna, who was in dress some say made her look like
a leather-accented bird. Rihanna went on to win Best
Rap Collaboration for “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z.

Cirque du Soleil delivered an aerial homage to
The Beatles, with respect to the musical “Across the
Universe.” An acrobat gracefully swung from ropes
that hung from the rafters without safety wire.

In his first televised performance since his mother
passed away in late 2007, Kanye West was a glow-inthe-
dark spectacle as he performed “Stronger” with Daft
Punk. West’s moves were robotic as he performed on
a stage that was reminiscent of the movie “Tron.”

West then ceased to glow and moved to a more intimate
mood, as an angel appeared on the monitors. With “mama”
cut into his hair, West put on a heartfelt performance
of “Hey Mama,” a song he recorded before his mother,
Donda, died. West received a standing ovation.

Cher came on stage to welcome Beyoncé Knowles
and the legendary Tina Turner. Turner fumbled on a
few steps, stepping on Knowles’ toes during “Proud
Mary,” but she still sang soulfully.

My Grammy Moment winner, Ann Marie Calhoun,
performed with the Foo Fighters, who won Best Rock
Album for “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.” Then,
Calhoun played violin with a full orchestra to the song
“The Pretender.”

Chris Brown, Akon and Solange Knowles announced
the Best Rap Album winner, Kanye West. West accepted
his award with some humility, but as his acceptance
speech went on, music played to cue him to stop.

West was speaking about his mother while the
music played when he said, “It would be in great taste
to stop the music.” The music stopped.

“I just got an award given to me by a Beatle. Have
you had that happen yet, Kanye?” Vince Gill joked
as he received the award for Best Country Album for
“These Days” from Ringo Star. Kanye smiled in the
crowd at Gill’s comment.

Rihanna received her first Grammy for “Umbrella.”
Jay-Z, featured on the song, comically interrupted
Rihanna’s acceptance speech as she thanked a slew
of people.

Perhaps the most anticipated performance of the
evening came late in the program. Cuba Gooding Jr.
introduced the controversial Amy Winehouse from
London, via satellite. At the start of her performance,
she looked much better than she has in recent tabloid
shots, which show her reportedly high on cocaine.

When Winehouse performed “Rehab” – although
her voice wasn’t terrible – her knees were shaky and
her steps were awkward.

Minutes later, Winehouse won the Grammy for
record of the year, giving her five wins out of the six
categories in which she was nominated. When she
heard her name, she stared blankly for a moment
before hugging everyone in sight.

Herbie Hancock was the surprise winner of the night
with his Grammy for Album of the Year for “River:
The Joni Letters,” an album featuring the music of
singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was the first jazz
album to win the category since Stan Getz and Joao
Gilberto back in 1965.

Hancock’s dual piano and orchestra performance of
George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with Chinese
virtuoso pianist Lang Lang was one highlight of the
evening.

After a commemorative montage of artists lost this
past year, including Pimp C, Ike Turner, Oscar Peterson,
Max Roach and Luciano Pavarotti, classical vocalist Josh
Groban joined blind opera singer Andrea Bocelli for a
powerful opera performance to close the night.